Monstrous Abilities
Aquatic The creature is native to the water. It is a natural swimmer and cannot drown. While in the water, its Pace is generally equal to its Swimming skill, but some creatures (usually fish) may have much higher movement rates. Armor A creature’s Armor adds to the creature’s Toughness (already added in to its statistics), usually in all locations. Thick, leathery hide generally offers 2 points of Armor. “Armored” creatures like a stegosaurus generally have 4 or more points of protection. Supernatural creatures may have much higher Armor values. A living statue, for example, might have 8 points of Armor or more. Burrowing From massive worms to sand-dwelling humanoids, many creatures are able to burrow beneath the earth and move within it. These creatures can tunnel underground and reappear elsewhere for devastating surprise attacks against their foes. The distance a creature can burrow in a turn is written immediately after its Burrow ability. A burrowing creature may tunnel on its action, and may erupt from the ground at any point within its burrowing Pace the same round if desired. It cannot be attacked while beneath the earth unless the attacker has some special means of detecting it and penetrating the intervening dirt. Burrowing creatures strike by erupting from beneath their opponents and taking them by surprise. When this occurs, the Burrowing creature makes an opposed Stealth roll versus the target’s Notice. If the creature wins, it gains +2 to attack and damage that round, or +4 if it gets a raise. If the victim wins and was on Hold, he may try to interrupt the burrower’s attack as usual. Construct Robots, golems, and other animated objects are collectively called “constructs.” Some are sentient beings while others are mere automatons following the will of a hidden master. Whatever their origin or material, such beings have several inherent advantages over creatures of flesh and blood: * Constructs add +2 when attempting to recover from being Shaken. * Constructs do not suffer additional damage from called shots (unless otherwise specified in their description). * Construct Wild Cards never suffer from Wound Modifiers. * Constructs do not suffer from disease or poison. Elemental Air, earth, fire, and water form the basis of the elemental realms, wherein dwell strange, unfathomable creatures. * Elementals suffer no additional damage from called shots. * Elementals are Fearless. * Elemental Wild Cards never suffer from Wound Modifiers. * Elementals do not suffer from disease or poison. Ethereal Ghosts, shadows, will-o’-the-wisps, and similar intangible creatures have no form in the physical world (or can turn it on and off at will). They cannot be harmed by physical attacks, and cannot creatures are always affected by magical items, weapons, and supernatural powers. Most ethereal creatures can still affect things in the physical world—throwing objects, wielding ghostly swords, or even pushing heroes down long, dark stairs. Fear Particularly frightening monsters cause Fear checks to all who see them. Some truly terrifying monsters may inflict penalties on Fear checks as well. A creature with Fear –2, for instance, causes those who see it to make their Fear checks at –2. See the Fear rules on page 97 for effects. Fearless Mindless creatures, some undead, robots, and the like don’t suffer from the weaknesses of the mortal mind. Fearless creatures never suffer from Fear effects and cannot be affected by Intimidation (though Taunt may still work). Flight The creature can fly at the listed Pace and ignores the effects of difficult ground. The flyer also has a Climb score that reflects its in-air maneuverability. The number is entirely relative and is mostly used for Chases to determine if the beast is more maneuverable than its foes (see page 94). Gargantuan Gargantuan creatures are those that are at least size 9 or better. Classic movie monsters like Godzilla or King Kong fit into this category. Gargantuans have Heavy Armor, so they can only be hurt by Heavy Weapons, and all their attacks count as Heavy Weapons as well. Gargantuans suffer the penalty for being Huge: +4 to attack rolls from man-sized creatures. When a Gargantuan creature makes a stomp attack (Game Master’s call), add its Size to its damage roll, but subtract the Size of the foe as well. Don’t add the size of inanimate obstacles such as vehicles, buildings, or ships—that’s already figured into their Toughness. Hardy Very tough and resilient creatures do not fall from lesser wounds, no matter how many they suffer. A decisive blow is needed to put one of these tenacious creatures down. If the beast is Shaken, further Shaken results have no further effect—they do not cause a wound. Infection A vampire’s bite, a horrid spider-like creature that injects eggs into its victim’s wounds, or even the disease-born scratching of rats are all examples of Infection. Whenever a character is Shaken or wounded by a creature with Infection, the victim must make a Vigor roll. Modifiers to the roll are listed in the creature’s description, as are the effects of failure. Infravision Nocturnal beasts often see in the infrared spectrum—meaning they can “see” by detecting heat. Creatures with Infravision halve penalties (round down) for bad lighting when attacking living targets. Clever characters may figure out ways to mask their heat from such creatures. Smearing cold mud over one’s body or wearing special heat-filtering suits generally obscures the target from those with Infravision. Creatures with Infravision almost always have normal sight as well. Immunity Creatures born in fire aren’t affected by heat, and a horror made of pure lightning won’t suffer from a bolt attack with an electrical trapping. Immunities are always to specific types of attacks, such as fire, cold, electricity, and so on. Such creatures aren’t Invulnerable, they just ignore damage from the specific attack types named. Invulnerability Savage Settings are filled with violent combat, but many often feature desperate puzzle-solving or dark research into unholy horrors as well. To defeat an Invulnerable creature, you’ll need a little of both. Invulnerable creatures can be Shaken, but they can’t be wounded by anything but their Weakness (all such creatures have at least one if not more). An ancient dark god given life by misguided cultists, for example, might be immune to mortal weapons, but is vulnerable to shards of stained glass gathered from a church. Low Light Vision Many monsters, and even fantasy races such as elves and dwarves, are typically able to see in all but the blackest darkness. Low light vision ignores penalties for Dim and Dark lighting, allowing the creature to see in all but pitch black conditions. Paralysis Certain creatures and poisons can instantly paralyze a foe, rendering the victim easy prey for the thing’s dark designs or ravenous appetite. A target who suffers damage or a Shaken result from such a creature must make a Vigor roll or be paralyzed and incapable of any action—even speech—for 2d6 rounds or longer. Poison Snakes, venom-coated daggers, and so on afflict their victims with dangerous poison. Poisons are described in more detail in the Hazards section. A creature with the Poison ability typically injects it via a bite or scratch. To do so, the thing must cause at least a Shaken result to the victim, who then makes a Vigor roll modified by the strength of the poison (listed in parentheses after the creature’s Poison ability). The effects of failure are described in each creature’s description. Regeneration Legend has it that trolls, vampires, and certain other types of legendary creatures can Regenerate damage caused to them. Regeneration comes in two types: Fast and Slow. * Fast Regeneration lets a wounded creature make a Vigor roll every round to heal any damage it has sustained—even after it has been “killed.” A success heals one wound (or removes Incapacitated status), and a raise heals an additional wound. Most creatures with this ability also have a Weakness or Vulnerability, such as fire. Wounds from the creature’s Weakness or Vulnerability do not regenerate, but may still heal naturally. Creatures with Fast Regeneration also add +2 to Spirit rolls made to recover from being Shaken. * Slow Regeneration means the creature won’t be suddenly healing itself during a fight, but may recover its wounds quickly between encounters. Slow regenerators make a natural Healing roll once per day. Size A creature’s size has a lot to do with how much damage it can take, so we add a modifier to its Toughness to reflect its tremendous mass. Note that a beast’s size has nothing to do with Vigor—even a mighty kraken can catch a cold or tire out. The Toughness modifiers on the table below represent average specimens of particular species for comparison, but there are always exceptions. Not every great white has a +4 Toughness bonus. A young specimen might have a +3, while a larger fish might be +5 or even +6. The same is true for humans. Small humans suffer a –1 penalty, while those with the Brawny Edge gain a +1 bonus. Use the table as a baseline when creating your own creatures then adjust for particularly large or smaller versions. Toughness Modifiers ► Minimum Toughness: Normal creatures have a minimum Toughness of 2 regardless of modifiers. Only insects and the like have Toughness scores of 1. Small/Large/Huge Creatures the size of rats or pixies are very difficult to hit, especially when moving. Assuming such a creature is active, attackers subtract 2 from any attack rolls directed at it. Large creatures, at least the size of a rhino, are somewhat easier to hit. Attackers may add +2 to any attack rolls directed at Large targets. Truly Huge creatures, at least as big as a dragon, are +4 to be hit. This ability is both cumulative and relative, meaning the inverse of the modifier applies to attacks made by the creature. So if an elephant strikes at a human, it subtracts 2 from its roll, but if attacking another elephant, the modifiers negate each other. Strength Strength is a Trait, not a special ability, but because very large creatures exceed the normal human range of d4 to d12, you might need a little more information when creating your own creatures. Creatures of human or lesser Strength should be expressed as a d4 through a d12, as you think appropriate. Stronger creatures, such as gorillas, ogres, and so on, have a d12 plus a bonus. The bonus depends on how strong the creature is and how well it can use that strength in combat. Just as with humans, there is variation within each species, however. A mother gorilla may have a Strength of d12+1, while her much larger mate has a Strength of d12+3. Here’s a quick comparison to help you figure out what Strength creatures of your own creation should have. Creature Strength Stun A creature with this ability often has an electrical attack, mild toxin, mind lash, or similar trapping. When it successfully hits a character (even if it causes no damage), the victim must make a Vigor roll minus any listed penalties or be Shaken. He cannot attempt to recover from being Shaken for 1d6 rounds. Undead Zombies, skeletons, and similar Undead horrors are particularly difficult to destroy. Below are the benefits of being such an abomination. * Undead add +2 to their basic Toughness. * Undead add +2 when attempting to recover from being Shaken. * Undead don’t suffer additional damage from called shots. * Undead Wild Cards never suffer from Wound Modifiers. * Undead do not suffer from disease or poison. Wall Walker Some creatures have the ability to walk on walls. These creatures only make Climbing rolls in the most adverse and stressful situations—otherwise they automatically walk on vertical or inverted surfaces just as a human walks on the earth. A Wall Walker’s Pace when walking on walls is its standard movement rate. It may run as usual when walking on walls unless the specific creature’s text says otherwise. Weakness Some creatures suffer additional damage or other effects when attacked by their Weakness. A creature made of ice, for example, might take double damage from fire. A vampire suffers from a Weakness to sunlight, causing it to catch fire and burn when exposed to its rays. See the creature’s description for the particular effects of its Weakness. Some creatures can only be killed by their Weakness. They may feel pain or even become Shaken from other attack types, but only suffer wounds when struck by their Weakness. A vampire, for instance, ignores wounds from swords and bullets, but suffers damage normally if hit in the heart with a wooden stake. Category:Bestiary